DigiPen Institute of Technology

HE was 3 years old when he started playing games on the PC and the Nintendo game console.

Mr Ryan Chew's early interest in computer games became more pronounced by the time he was in junior college. He decided that he wanted to develop games instead of just playing them.

So the former Serangoon Junior College student chose computing as one of his core subjects.

Mr Chew, now 23, also started researching online for schools that he could enrol in to pursue a degree in computer science.

That was when he first found out about the DigiPen Institute of Technology, based in the United States.

But his parents were not keen on him going overseas to study because of the high cost.

So when he learnt that DigiPen had opened a branch here last year, he jumped at the opportunity to be part of the pioneer batch of students.

Mr Chew is now pursuing a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Real-Time Interactive Simulation. He said he chose DigiPen as it is reputable and the majority of his lecturers also teach at the US campus.

But he noted that his first year was not without a few challenges.

He said: "On top of working on one main game project throughout each semester, we had many other projects and assignments to complete as well.

"We had to stay in school till about 10pm every day to work on the project for the few weeks just before the deadline.

"But it was the greatest satisfaction to complete the game project and present it to the lecturer and the rest of the class."

He is now doing an internship, which started two days ago and will end in late August, at a games development company during his school holiday. He had applied for the internship on his own.

He said he gets to use the programming techniques he learnt in class at work.

Students can earn up to five academic credits for their internship if they are in their third or fourth year of the degree.

Although Mr Chew will not earn any credits for his internship, he said he will definitely gain a lot of experience.